March 8, 2011

A Starting Point

There are as many definitions of the word "creativity" as there are creative people wandering around the planet with a pencil or paintbrush or iPad in hand -- originality, progressiveness, productiveness, imagination -- the ability to transcend tradition, rules, and patterns and create meaningful new ideas and methods. These are wonderful and inspiring, if complicated, notions.

Creativity encompasses all of these ideas, but it can be defined in much simpler terms, almost in feelings more than words. Being creative means using your mind in different ways, being open -- to new ideas, new paths, new techniques -- and just plain creating. Making. Producing, not like a machine, but with a twist of your own.

We have plenty of time to discuss just what being creative means, but coming up with a common definition is not what's important. What matters is action: we don't need to ruminate on the ideas of creation, art, the mind -- we need to put them to use! Make something, whether it's a drawing or a short story, a sandwich or a song, a house or an idea. Wake up your mind -- wake up your fingers -- and challenge yourself to create!

Let's do this together, using tools like the daily creative theme and weekly or monthly creative challenges.

Let's share our work, our thoughts on the process and the results.

It doesn't matter if you're a couch potato who believes he hasn't been creative since the days of crayons and construction paper, or a full-time artist who breathes beauty and creativity and wants to expand her vision -- we all have to light a fire under our creative minds, to exercise them and challenge them in new ways, or watch them slowly die away.

Create or perish!

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